Sometimes, I think men hate to pack and unpack. Mulder? He's sitting on the scrappy sofa channel surfing,
cursing out the Knicks as they're getting blasted to death, in no hurry to open his suitcase. He throws some sunflower
seed shells into an ashtray and glances over at me once in a while. He smiles so sexily and I smile back. I'm
aching to getmy belongings out and get it over with.

I smile back and lick my lips. "You know me too well, Ahab. Are YOU ever going to unpack?"

He leans back and clicks the converter. "All the time in the world. I'm vegging out. I wish this were MY sofa."
Back to surfing.

Two brown envelopes marked "FRAGILE". Just like me, at times. My reading glasses? Thought I left them
somewhere at home. I was in such a hurry to get to the trial and help Mulder, with all the rushing around they must
have been back home on my dresser. Lately, I hadn't been using them.

I think I'll leave the letter till later. I can't bear the thought of my mother's broken heart and all I have put
her through, especially these past three years. Next, we have... "OHMYGOD!" I find myself screaming, then softly
crying. "Oh, my..."

Mulder's over here as fast as a fly. Arms enfolding me, he softly says,"Are you all right?" Then he sees the picture,
beautifully nuzzled in acarved silver frame, and as I gaze into his hazel eyes, they soften and well up with tears.
"You and William nursing. I snapped that picture before I... we..our boy... Damn, I just can't stop feeling so stuck.
I say good night to him every time I close my eyes, Scully." Yes, hold it, us, close to your heart and never let us
go.I

I stand up and nuzzle into him like a broken-hearted little girl. "Hold me. I can't feel it! Hold
me..." Now, I'm crying so much I can't speak, and my face hurts.He hurts, he cries... but he composes himself, and forces
himself to stand straight and tall. The mighty Mulder. Mine. All my strength in his.

"Look at me." He cups my wet face in his hands and tries to wipe away the tears, but can't keep up with them.
"This is not the end in any way, shape, or form. I promise you we WILL be raising William, we WILL SURVIVE, and we WILL get
past the pain. Never again will I allow myself to let you be so broken."

"I believe you," I whisper through the tears. I force a smile."Do you make passes at girls who wear glasses?"
This was no time for levity, and I don't know where it came from... maybe some sort of way of keeping myself sane?

"Why, yes, Miss. I do. I wear them myself."

I put mine on just to see if... and he does. He makes a pass!Mulder pinches my butt and begins to hum "Sexy
Eyes". Then he runs over to his pile of stuff and unwraps his reading glasses. "Ordered these before I went out
of my way to expose, at least I thought I would, the colonization plan."When he put them on, he brought back the
first moment I laid eyes on him in his office at the F.B.I. The little school boy look, unruly locks of brown hair and the
boyish look about him all came back, and I remember feeling warm all over. How I smiled, and tried not to giggle...
I remember how I saw his image from that time on whenever I couldn't sleep. The thought of him and me..

.

"I... don't think I need these, Scully." He was trying to read a paper and the glasses were of no help. "They're
only blurring things. I guess I got the wrong strength."

I tried mine out. There was no way this could be happening. Even the labelling on the brown envelope was all
distorted. But it was FINE when I removed the glasses! "Mulder, when you were exposed to the spacecraft artifact,
I told someone you were more alive than you'd ever been."

Mulder seemed perplexed. I thought be believed everything and I mean EVERYTHING "And?"

"I went to the Ivory Coast looking for answers and I was exposed to spacecraft remains. I saw dead frogs come
back to life, Mulder! Could it be?"

"That we were healed in some way?" There was a look I'd never seen before in his face. So, I let him think awhile
and read my Mom's letter.

She missed me, she was staying at the apartment for three months as we had agreed upon, and Mulder's fish were A-1
healthy. Bill had become a father again... I almost cried but I was all out of tears.

After fifteen, twenty, I don't know how many minutes, because I finished unpacking, my Ahab spoke. His words
were very tender and very serious. "Scully, come sit down." He gently walked me to the sofa.

"What is it, Mulder? Why do I need to sit down?" I felt a lump in my throat and a chill run through my
system.

"Whatever our "truth" was has been re-written by, I don't know, God or alien ships, or your faith. I don't know.
But I bet dollars to donuts William is biologically, FULLY yours and mine. and that...YOU HAVE HEALTHY, FERTILE, MAGNIFICENT
SCULLY..."

I think, the suspense is killing me Mulder. "Spit it out! Spit it out or I'll knock it out of you!
Don't tease me," I pleaded.

"EGGS! OVA! LIFE-GIVING MOMMY CELLS!" He smiled.

I was so happy I found myself laughing hysterically. A mid-afternoon thunderstorm was bringing torrents of warm rain.
I grabbed Mulder, almost ripping his arm off as I dragged him outside and we danced closely, romantically. as if in a
dream sequence in a movie--time seemed to stand still. We smiled and nuzzled and danced our hearts out.

"Thank God for those SPECTACULAR SPECTACLES!" My compass, my love,my soulmate, Ahab Mulder bellowed his happiness
a dozen times even over the loud thunder. It was for all the world to hear and share in our joy.

Mulder, Scully, all other characters and the title The X-Files
are copyrighted by Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Srudios. No money changes hands here, and I attempt
no copyright infringement. Parents, please monitor what your children read--you ARE the best sadety feature they have.